Fastener for boxes



April 15, 1924. 1,490,886

W. C. STIEFELHAGEN FASTENER or; BOXES Filed 24. 1921 Patented Apr. 15, 192 s.

an "starts PATENT WILLIAM C. S'IIEFELHAGE-N, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO IvIIDIiAND- PA'EEB BOX (10., INC, 01? BUFFALO, NEW' YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FASTENER FOR BOXES.

Application filed August 24, 1921. Serial No. 495,073.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM C. STIEFEL- rmonx, a citizen oft-he United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fasteners for Boxes, of which the following is a specification. c

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in fasteners for boxes made of paper, or other material, and in which a cover telescopes over the body portion of the box, or a portion thereof.

More particularly, this invention relates to that type of fasteners adapted to be secured to the body-portion ofthe box and inserted through slits formed in the cover, the portions thereof extending through said slits being bent down against the sides or ends of the cover, as the case may be.

This invention has for its object, to pro vide a fastener of this type which will guard against the downwardly bent tongue thereof being accidentally bent upwardly or straightened, thus preventing accidental displacement of the cover from the body portion.

The invention consists in the novel construction hereinafter described and particularly defined in the appended claims.

The invent-ion is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a box equipped with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the body portion of the box.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken centrally through the box.

Figs. i and 5 are perspective views of the fastener showing the retainer or looking portion on the tongue in different positions.

The numeral 1 designates the body portion of a box constructed of pasteboard, cardboard, or similar material, and 2 the cover thereof telescoped over the upper open end of the body portion; boxes of this kind being especially designed for mailing small articles.

Boxes of this kind are invaribly constructed of cardboard or similar material, and to the exterior surfaces of this material a similar paper covering is applied to give the box a neat and finished appearance.

3 designates my improved fastener, which comprises a body portion 4 having an up standing tongue 5 projecting from'one elge thereof, the bodyportion being provided with pointed securing prongs 6 at opposite ends thereof, which are stamped from body portion and bent at right angles thereto so that they may be pressed into and through the side or end walls of the body portion and be clenched on the inner or outer sides of said side walls. as may be desired, to secure the fastener to said body portion. While I have shown pointed securing prongs, any other means may be provided for securing the fastener to the body portion of the box.

The cardboard from which the cover 2 is formed is provided with slits 7 which, however, are concealed by the paper covering material, so that when applying the cover to the body portion of the box, the upstanding tongues 55 of the fasteners are entered in the slits 7 in the cardboard portion of the cover and forced through the paper covering material. These tongues therefore extend upwardly through the slits 7 and the paper covering material and are adapted to be bent overthe ends or sides of the cover, as the case may be. To prevent these bent ends from being accidentally bent back or straightened when in transit, I provide each of the tongues with an outwardly-directed pointed prong 8, which is stamped from said tongue. When said tongues are bent over the sides or ends of the cover and pressed in contact therewith, the prongs 8 are forced into the cover so that a direct outward pull on the bent portions of the tongues will be required in order to straighten the tongues so as to permit the cover to be removed from the body portion. These pointed prongs I term looking or retainer prongs since they prevent accidental displacement of the cover when forced thereinto.

The fasteners may he used as shown in Fig. 4, in which the retainer or looking prong 8 on the tongue is merely stamped in said tongue by two ii-shaped downwardly converging slits 9. This permits the cover to be easily slipped onto the body portion of the box without making the slits in the cover any wider than the thickness of the tongue, and after the'cover is slipped over the upstanding tongues, the prong may be forced outwardly, as shown at the left in Fig. 3, and the tongue being then bent over ion 7 the side or end of the cover, as shown at the right in Fig. 3, whereupon the looking or retainer prong 8 will enter the side or end of the cover, as the case may be, and lock the tongue in place. ing or, retainer prong thus arranged, it will require both outward and upward pressure on the tongue inorder to straighten the same, and therefore in shipping, assurance will be had that the bent tongue will re- Eain the cover on the body portion of the If desired, the fastener may be utilized,

' as shown in Fig. 5, in which position the retainer or locking prong 8 is bent from the tongue, but when so used it may be found necessary to slightly widen each slit 7 in the cover at a point centrally between its ends, to prevent bending of the prong while placing the cover on the body portion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination with the body portion of a box and its cover having a slit therein, of a fastener secured to said body portion and having an upstanding tongue adapted to pass through the slit of said cover, said tongue being bent outwardly and downwardly into engagement with the cover and Vith the tongue and lock- 7 when in contact with said cover.

2. In combination with the body portion of a box'and a cover having a slit therein, a

fastener secured to one of the upright walls of said body portion and having a bendable tongue passed through the slit of said cover, said tongue being provided with an outwardly-projecting prong adapted to be forced into the cover when bending said tongue outwardly and downwardly against the side or end of said. cover.

3. In combination with the body portion of a box and its cover having a slit therein, a fastener secured to said body portion having an upstanding bendable tongue provided with a V-shaped slit, the metal between the V-shaped slit being adapted to be bent outwardly after said cover is slipped onto said body portion so as to form a pointed prong on said tongue, said tongue being adapted to be bent outwardly and downwardly against the side of the cover with said pointed prong forced into the side or end of sa'idcover.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM C. STIEFELHAGEN. 

